Michelle Obama Thanks Treasury Department

The First Lady was joined by Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, who introduced her before her speech.

“All of you here at Treasury have, as we know, your plates very full — probably even an understatement — for the past 18 months since this administration came on board,” Michelle said. “When my husband took office, our nation was in the midst of the worst economic crisis in generations. The financial markets were in turmoil. The auto companies were on the verge of collapse — we don’t even talk about that anymore. And for millions of Americans, the dreams that they worked so hard for were just slowly slipping away.”

“So there’s no question that these were difficult challenges, but together, you all have come together to help continue to move this country forward. And for that you should be proud,” she added.